3 Takeaways From Houston's Big 12 Semifinal Blowout Win Over Kansas
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In the first half, the tempo towards a successful rematch began with forward Chris Cenac Jr. and his three triples.
For the next 20 minutes, that attention turned to guard Kingston Flemings and 14 points toward his team-high 21-point performance.
Both efforts from No. 2-seed Houston men's basketball's starting freshmen clicked for a wire-to-wire effort towards the Cougars' 69-47 blowout win in a rematch of No. 3-seed Kansas in the Big 12 tournament semifinals Friday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The matchup saw a complete 180 from the regular season meeting at Allen Fieldhouse just 40 minutes away in Lawrence on Feb. 23, as this time, Kansas landed on the receiving end of domination in a woeful offensive display.
Pair that with the Cougars' efficient turnaround effort from their quarterfinals win over BYU on Thursday, and Houston has punched its ticket to the Big 12 championship game on Saturday, March 14 at 5 p.m., a date with the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats.
With revenge leaving a proper taste in the mouths of the Cougars and Houston clinching a full-stay in the Big 12 tournament, here are three takeaways from tonight's game to consider heading into the championship.
Kansas pays heed in rematch across the border
In the original matchup just 40 minutes down I-70 on Feb. 23, Houston suffered offensive woes in an already historically difficult place to play towards its third straight loss in to top-15 team.
The 3:23 mark of the first half in that game was the beginning of an unraveling for the Cougars that saw them being outscored 49-29 the remainder of the way, where things just weren't going their way.
19 days later, the beginning of the second half in the Big 12 semifinals saw a larger unraveling for Kansas, when it opened the first nine minutes of the frame with 17 straight misses from the floor.
With 5:53 remaining, freshman guard Darryn Peterson's check-out signaled the white flag for the Jayhawks and their eventual 25% finish in shooting.
Opposite of that, in a positive offensive refresh to prep for the championship game, Houston finished shooting 42% from the floor, but 55% from beyond the arc in doubling its 3-pointer totals from the quarterfinals.
One of those efforts from deep came from the Cougars' starting freshman forward, who had been seeking his first made triple since the original meeting between the two teams.
Cenac may have scouts' attention again
By the end of the night, Cenac was the one with the sticker to punch Houston's ticket to the Big 12 title game.
But not only were eyes put on Houston towards a Big 12 championship game rematch from last season, but the effort that may have NBA draft scouts' eyes potentially peeled again was Cenac's sixth double-double of the season, through 17 points and matching a career-high 14 boards, with six coming on the offensive glass.
Multiple mock boards have Cenac positioned in the middle of the first round, having taken a noticeable slide from just outside lottery range from two months earlier. Seeking his first made triple since Feb. 23 contributed to part of it despite consistently averaging over seven rebounds per game.
But three triples towards Houston's 10 on the night and over half of its offensive boards towards domination on that glass for the bulk of the game. While it may be just another confidence booster, it could very well be the start of a postseason draft profile rejuvenation.
Nonetheless, a similar performance will be seeked towards winning a second consecutive Big 12 tournament title.
Title game implicative towards top-seed surprise for Houston
While the Big 12 championship game will be a rematch of 2025's between Houston and Arizona, the game not only holds the chance for the Cougars to clinch their second straight conference tournament title, but also the chance to keep their No. 1-seed streak alive for the fourth straight season.
All but one region remains secured for the top three projected No. 1-seeds, no matter their result. But the South region can potentially be up for grabs for the final of those between Houston, Florida, and UConn, depending on who displays their best performance towards a conference title.
With a Houston win, the Cougars can potentially steal the last top seed from either the Big East or Southeastern champion and garner a commanding draw towards playing back home in the second weekend.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.